2 - Iron Under Rust

Merle Innes feigned sleep, snored. Peeked out one lidded eye, grasped his situation. Full night. Three oddly-attired orcs. The ancient grove transformed: now but a grassy patch and the oak and bough beneath him. And a strange town grown up all around.

Plainly an age had passed. The orcs, a stumpy boss and two grunts, wore black suits of jacket and pants, white shirt, a cloth strip knotted round each neck and swinging over the shirtfront.

The orcs grumbled over him.

"Don't look very wizardy, do he, Chevy?"

"Just some old guy sleeping in the park, Ford. Uh…In contravention of civic ordinance."

"Protaga…Protagalus, whatever." Boss orc held up something in one fist.

A finger-sized sliver of rusted something.

"Pooh-pooh THIS, old wizard. Yesss, orc kind will rule THIS age."

Merle shut his mouth.

"Beemer's coming, Boss."

Merle swallowed. "THAT is not the Blade."

It was. Its sliver's worth of power warmed his face.

Boss orc sneered. "HAH, I SEE you know this. Your kindred scattered. You snoozed. Now WE have it."

"Granted you hold a sliver of some poor iron. But not the Blade. Sorry. Blade NEVER would choose YOU." Merle shut his eyes, shook his head.

Boss orc snickered. "CHOOSE?"

Chevy and Ford also snickered.

"Wizard. We orc broke your stone. Used magic, yesss. This age gives up its magic to any who will take it. Your age is gone."

"YOU used magic, HAH." Merle shivered, down to the grass underfoot.

"Uh, the C4, tell him, Boss."

"Whatever. THIS is the Blade. THIS is enough. Orc kind now rule."

Both orc grunts rocked about in their black suits. Possibly they were dancing.

"Possibly make you orc a spoon there. If there's iron under the rust." Merle laughed, tears hot in both eyes. "Tell me, Master of this age, this magic, this C4. Did it rot away your brains along with this - this useless iron?"

Chevy and Ford together merrily stomped round and round, shaking the ground.

Hope my set-up chapters here are open enough - and make for easy collab add-ons. I figure humour makes it easier, fun, less serious. We can add and go where we like.

Very glad you like it :D Thanks, Jsimmons17. And Thanks to you and Everybody for building Remnants. We're the closest thing like Protag…possibly anywhere in the cold, often-too-serious www. It's Us versus the orcs…